Call to help west end keep up with east end

BUSINESS chiefs have called for improvements to the west end of Princes Street in order to keep up with the proposed St James Quarter development.

The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce has urged the city council to invest in street improvements and to continue to urge developers to take forward investment in the west end of the thoroughfare.

Graham Birse, managing director of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "There is a concern that, if investment in the main happens in the east end, that the west end might suffer. We are talking to the city council about improving the west end.

"We do not want to let what I call the marching barrage of tartan tat that is coming up the Royal Mile to become the main retail offering. That would be disastrous."